Today, 2nd of July I played host for Merlin Luck in Adelaide, South Australia, creating an itinerary and showing him around to many of Adelaide’s backbone support networks for refugees.
The day started with collecting Merlin from the airport, moments after walking out of the terminal the first of many people recognised Merlin. A man and his wife and small child yelled out, “WooHoo! Merlin, Free the refugees”. The day started on this positive note and only got better as the day wore on.
Merlin Luck and Safaa (Iraqi TPV holder)After collecting my Iraqi friend Safaa, who was blown away by Merlin’s support for refugees we headed for ARA (Australian Refugee Association) see: http://www.artsa.net/ara/.
Matt Hamon, Safaa and Merlin LuckAt ARA, Merlin met up with Afghan refugees and learnt about the wonderful support services provided by the refugee association and Circle of Friends. Circle of Friends provides friendship and support for families living in the community and those still in immigration detention and there are new groups popping up all over the place.
Merlin Luck with Afghan and Iraqi refugees at ARA (Australian Refugee Association)After spending some time at ARA we whisked Merlin off to Radio Adelaide to do an interview, this I believe has been pre-recorded and will air nationally. See:
http://www.radio.adelaide.edu.au. The interview was fantastic and Merlin is a very good speaker, he is calm, clear and knows his stuff. He truly makes a great ambassador to the cause.
From Radio Adelaide we made our way to Café Buongionos where we enjoyed a fantastic lunch with 30+ people from various refugee support networks. Chris Hannah (Greens MP) was there along with Abby Hamdan (refuge lawyer) and Ruth Russel (Human Shield).
Merlin Luck with Abby Hamdan (Barrister & Solicitor)
Merlin Luck with Ruth Russell (Iraqi war human shield)
Merlin Luck with Kris Hannah MP (Greens Member)
At our lunch I met up with Evelyn Guell from Amnesty, someone I have known all my life but wasn’t until recently made aware of our shared passion for human rights and the campaign for justice for refugees held indefinitely in Australia’s harsh and punitive immigration detention policy. It was amazing to catch up with Evelyn after all these years and to learn about her recent marriage to a man currently held in Baxter detention centre.
Evelyn Guell and Catherine McMahonDuring our lunch the Adelaide Advertiser interviewed Merlin and took some fantastic photos of Merlin, Zia, Habbas and Yasdan, the article should appear in July 3rd edition.
After lunch Merlin, the crew and I headed to the Otherway Centre (Aboriginal Catholic Ministry) a network that welcomes and supports refugees into our community continuing the tradition of the Aboriginal people and their abundant hospitality. The people at the Otherway centre are so warm and friendly and we all enjoyed their spirit and the good work they do very much. Merlin was very interested in the cultural differences speaking with the young Afghanis and a very intelligent discussion started about multiculturalism and how the word should not imply that other cultures different from our own be forced to conform to ours, that it should be about celebrating our differences and the diversity that it brings to our community.
Zia, Habbas, Merlin and YasdanMany of the people from the Otherway centre we very impressed by Merlin’s stance and his courage to speak out on social issues. It was very frightening for Merlin when he did his silent protest on the Big Brother show, especially when large groups of the shallow audience proceeded to vilify him for his convictions. Merlin told us how he blocked out the fear by picturing a poor child held behind razor wire and in doing so reaffirmed why he took the public stance as he did.
Merlin with the crew at the Otherway CentreOur next appointment was at Centra Care, a support network most famously known for supporting the Baktiyari family. Merlin spent sometime with Pauline Frick discussing the services provided by Centra Care and the brilliant work they have done with the Baktiyaris. Through visiting these support networks and the wonderful staff Merlin gained a great insight into the dedicated hard work that so many groups put into assisting refugees both in our community and those yet to be processed who are still languishing in immigration detention, but on top of that he was able to give back much needed encouragement to these fantastic people.
Our last appointment was at Parliament house where we caught up with Kate Reynolds (Democrat MP) and Sandra Cank (South Australian Democrat’s leader). Both Sandra and Kate were very impressed by the dedication and truly inspiring sincerity of Merlin Luck.
Zia, Yasdan, Merlin Luck, Kate Reynolds MP and Habbas on the steps of Parliament House, Adelaide.
On behalf of everyone in Adelaide we thank Merlin Luck, we celebrate his courage and sincerity and wish him all the success he so richly deserves. In this shallow modern age it takes guts and bucket loads of character to stand up for what you believe. Merlin Luck has done that and much much more. Merlin, you are a credit to the Australian people and represent those many voices silenced by fear, political pressure and policy, you represent the majority of Australians that aren’t racist and care about their fellow man. Shine on you crazy dude.
Background information and resources:http://www.chilout.org/activities/merlin_in_action.htmlhttp://bigbrother.ten.com.au/news.asp?news_id=214http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/13/1087065031443.html?from=top5http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9840256^1702,00.htmlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3818367.stmhttp://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=9734http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/30/1088488027236.htmlhttp://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_9661.shtml
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